A New York pastor is raffling an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at church at a Sunday service soon.

Rev. John Koletas, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, stated on the church's website that the raffle's purpose is "honoring hunters and gun
owners who have been so viciously attacked by the antichristian
socialist media and antichristian socialist politicians the last few
years."

A flier distributed regarding the raffle says "win a FREE AR-15" and a verse, John 14:27: "My peace I give unto you."

The winner of the game must be a legal adult and undergo a rigorous FBI background check and meet all state and federal laws before the gun is handed over to its new owner, according to The Times Union.

He isn't mandating that his congregation enter the contest, and the flier was sent to registered gun owners.

"If someone doesn't want to own a gun, that's their right," he said. "At
the same time, I don't think we should be critical of legal gun owners
who gave us our freedom."

The current mainstream model of the AR-15 is illegal in New York and the model being raffled has been modified to meet restrictions, according to Fox News.

Some don't agree with the message-- a similar weapon was used in the Sandy Hook shootings.

"There's no way we should be in a church saying we're going to be giving
away a weapon that could end up in the wrong hands," Charlie Muller of
the Victory Christian Church told WRGB-TV